The Supreme Court’s order banning the sale of liquor within 500 metres of national and state highways from 1 April, has left restaurants, hotels and pubs high and dry, with owners incurring huge losses in revenue.
The once “high” and crowded Cyber Hub in Gurgaon, along National Highway 8, has gone dry, with all pubs, bars and micro breweries shutting their taps since 1 April.
The Beer Cafe at Cyber Hub wore a deserted look, with not a single customer at the restaurant, when this newspaper visited the place. The restaurant manager said that they have lost almost 95% of their business as they are a liquor-based outlet and since 1 April, they hardly have had any customers coming.
Imperfecto, the famous pub on the second floor of Cyber Hub, is always full of loud music, with the place bustling with customers sipping their drinks. It was almost empty when this correspondent visited the pub. The staff was seen playing carom.
Lalit, the manager at Imperfecto, said, “Ever since the Supreme Court order has come into force, we have lost most of our guests. Earlier, we had 250-300 guests on an average day, but now that number has reduced to just 50. This has hurt us in a big way. We had to transfer many of our staff to the other outlets as there is hardly any work here.”
He also said that if no solution comes up regarding this order, “We will have to close our outlet as we will not be able to bear the cost of running this place with a handful of guests visiting us.”
The Excise Department of Haryana has already seized all liquor inventories from all outlets in Haryana coming within the 500-metre ambit specified by the court order. The Excise Department has also banned the display of liquor bottles or liquor advertisements by these restaurants in their premises.
The staff of these places also fears losing their jobs. An employee at one of the pubs in Cyber Hub, who did not wish to be named, said that the ban would leave around 8,000 employees jobless at Cyber Hub alone.
“The order has taken away our employment. We have families to feed. I have the responsibility of five members in my family and if I lose my job, we will be left to die. We agree with the apex court on banning liquor vends and shops, but I do not understand why it should be extended to restaurants and shops,” he said.
Owners also expressed their concern over the crores of rupees spent on building the pubs and restaurants, some of which boast of state-of-the-art decor and architecture. They said they would be in trouble if the order was not reversed.
“We had taken huge loans to build the infrastructure for our outlet and a huge amount of money is involved. If we are not able to find a way out, we will go bankrupt,” a pub owner told this correspondent.
Cyber Hub is trying to circumvent the court order through negotiations with the Excise Department of Haryana. According to sources in the Excise Department, the distance of 500 metres would be measured as motorable distance from the highway and not as the crow flies. Cyber Hub has already blocked all its entrances from NH-8 and has shifted the entry to another side, for which one has to travel more than a kilometre from the highway to enter the premises.
Around 20 pubs and micro breweries in Gurgaon’s happening Sector 29 market are also facing a dilemma. While most of these affected pubs and micro-breweries were shut on 1 April, some are still open, serving food without alcohol.
On visiting the Sector 29 market, a shopkeeper told this correspondent, “Around 20 pubs have been affected here. The rest got saved as they apparently they are outside the 500 metres limit.”
As a staff member of one of the pubs in Sector 29 market told The Sunday Guardian, “We have been saved. We have heard that the pubs and restaurants across the road are facing the ban. We are thankful that we have not come under the order.”
Not only Gurgaon, several small and big hotels in Delhi also have been affected. Delhi’s Aerocity, which hosts a large number of posh and five star hotels, have been affected as guests there are not being served alcohol, owing to its proximity to National Highway 8.
Many hotels in Mahipalpur, where several budget hotels are located, lost their liquor licences following the SC order, thus impacting the number foreign clients who visit them. According to many staffers in these restaurants, they emptied their liquor stocks on the intervening night of 31 March and 1 April and are not being able to serve guests alcohol, causing revenue losses.
Some five-star hotels like the the Leela Ambience in Gurgoan along NH-8, have raised concerns about losing out on business, due to the suspension of liquor licenses. However, the management at the Leela said that they were trying to shift the entrance of the hotel from the highway to the rear end so as to increase its distance from the highway.
The tourism industry has also expressed concern over the Apex Court’s order.
Shubash Goyal, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, told The Sunday Guardian, “This order has adversely impacted the tourism industry. Leisure tourists who come to this country, come here for merry making, but this order will apply a brake on that and discourage tourists from coming here. I hope and appeal to the government to exempt restaurants that are recognised by the Ministry of Tourism.”
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